


Batman - Fear in Gotham

by kylejoseph



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Arkham (Video Games), Batman: Arkham - All Media Types, Batman: The Animated Series, Batman: The Telltale Series (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:48:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25373398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kylejoseph/pseuds/kylejoseph
Summary: Batman is called to a crime scene by Commissioner Gordon, but what he finds there disturbs him.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set in the Arkhamverse, some time prior to the events of the "Batman: Arkham Asylum" video game

Pounding rain lashed the rooftops and neo-Gothic building facades of Gotham City, throwing an already inky black night into even further darkness and gloom. Lightning cracked overhead, the sound of thunder rolling across the city in great waves that caused small animals to recoil and seek shelter from the downpour. The entire city was mostly empty, with only a few humanoid figures moving here and there in the shadows of the city below. Above it all, perched on a gargoyle which jutted from the side of a building older than most could even remember, stood a figure in all black, billowing cape blowing in the rain and wind.

"Alfred, I've arrived at the scene," the figure said into his earpiece communication device. "Gordon told me the policed have cleared so I should have uninterrupted access. Standby."

_"Right you are, sir,"_ an English accented voice replied.

Batman closed the connection and activated his cowl scanner. White lenses descended over his eyes and the interior of the abandoned warehouse across the street came into clearer view. Confirming four deceased bodies inside, Batman searched the perimeter to ensure he wouldn't be interrupted—either by police officers or thugs looking to revisit the scene of the crime. Satisfied the area was devoid of anyone but himself, Batman leaned forward and launched himself from the gargoyle, his thick cape catching the air and putting him into a glide.

A set of windows spanned the entire wall from floor to ceiling—giving ample room to smash through and catch any henchmen waiting inside by surprise. Since his scans had revealed no one lying in ambush, Batman opted instead for the quieter approach. He angled towards a smaller window which was open and caught it with both hands, hauling himself inside as he dropped nearly without a sound to the cold concrete floor.

"Abandoned" really was the right word for this place. Garbage littered almost every visible surface and Batman's keen sense of hearing detected rats scurrying around in the darkness. It was no wonder this place was a hangout spot for anyone looking for trouble. As he crossed the room and found the scene, the Dark Knight once again activated his cowl scanner and began searching for any clues as to what transpired here.

All three men were lying in grotesque positions, likely indicating a fight had transpired between at least two of them—if not all three. One of them Batman recognized as a free agent nicknamed "Twin Knives" who was currently employed by Two-Face but the other two he didn't know. Batman knelt next to Twin Knives and examined the deceased man's fingers, using his scanner to check for gunshot residue. As he suspected, the scanner beeped a positive. This didn't necessarily conclude Twin Knives was responsible for the shooting here as GSR could stick around for weeks unless it was washed off—but it did mean the evidence so far fit his guess based on the arrangement of the bodies.

Next, Batman moved to the other two corpses near the wall. Both had clearly been fired upon and there were multiple hits on each body. Blood splattered the wall behind both men and they were collapsed in heaps upon the ground. Batman collected a few samples of blood, cloth and hair.

"Computer, recreate scene," Batman said. He watched as a holographic recreation came into view and rewound the events to earlier. Using a combination of footprints, fingerprints, smells and deductive programming, Batman's HUD displayed its best estimation of what had transpired. Twin Knives had arrived and clearly taken the other two men by surprise—they were holding a duffel bag and tried to draw their weapons but Twin Knives was too quick. He opened fire on both men, multiple rounds slamming into their bodies and the wall behind them.

The two shadowy images collapsed to the ground and came to rest right where they were in real life. The recreation errored when it came to Twin Knives, however. It could not ascertain why he had been killed.

Batman knelt and scanned Twin Knives' body, checking for any sign of foul play. Finding nothing, he stood and started to examine one of the fallen duffel bags when his keen sense of hearing picked up movement nearby. The Dark Knight whirled on one heel, drawing a Batarang in one swift motion and hurling it with every ounce of strength he could muster. A gunshot rang out like a crack of thunder and Batman was caught by the impact just under his ribs.

The shooter screamed in pain as the Batarang slammed into his hand and sliced it open, causing blood to spurt from the open wound. The pistol clattered to the ground as Batman recoiled from the bullet connecting with his body armor which stopped it cold. Still hurt like hell and would definitely leave a bruise but he would recover.

"It's the Bat—urk!" the shooter started to cry out but Batman crossed the room in a flash. The shooter found himself cut off as Batman's steely grip closed around his neck and lifted him into the air, white eyes boring into his very soul. "Please," the shooter said, "please don't—"

Batman wrapped his cape around the man and they vanished into the rafters just as more thugs came running to investigate.

"Shit!" one of them screamed, pointing his flashlight around wildly.

One of the four men started backing away. "Did you hear what Gary said?" he said, his eyes wide with panic. "It's the goddamn Bat, he's here!"

Without warning, the lights went out and the four men were plunged into darkness.

"Shit!"

"Oh God!"

Gunfire roared through the enclosed space as the men began to panic. Lights flared in the darkness as they fired wildly, trying to get a bead on the masked vigilante. "Where are you, you freak?" one of them asked.

"Right here," a voice said from somewhere behind him.

The man screamed as he vanished into the darkness.

"Fuck!" another shouted. "He's gone, he's fucking gone!"

"Tommy!" the one clearly in charge said, trying to take command of the situation. "There's only three of us left, we can kill this motherfucker. Stay close to me and—ahhhhhh!" The voice was suddenly cut off as the man was dragged somewhere into the rafters out of sight.

"James!" one of the two men remaining shouted. "Oh my God, Drey, we're gonna die." Tommy stopped moving and aimed his flashlight around wildly. "Drey?" he asked again. The wide beam of his light didn't find his companion. "Stop messing around man, this ain't funny. I'm not playing here."

Tommy backed up and bumped into someone behind him. He turned around just in time to see the stone cold face of the Batman as his entire world went dark before he could even utter a sound.

\---

Leaving the four men suspended in the rafters of the abandoned warehouse for Gordon and his men to find later, Batman returned to his original position on the gargoyle across the road.

_"Are you all right, Master Bruce?"_ Alfred Pennyworth asked over the radio in Batman's ear.

"Fine, Alfred," Batman replied. "I was expecting a grisly scene but that was over the top. Twin Knives murdered two men in cold blood."

_"Surely that isn't entirely out of his normal MO?"_ Alfred snarked. _"We aren't dealing with the most upstanding of citizens."_

"No," Batman agreed, checking the readout of the scene again. "Twin Knives just died, right after murdering two people. I couldn't find any sign of foul play but I didn't get a good look before four thugs jumped me."

_"Could you tell to whom they belonged?"_ Alfred asked, referring to Gotham's well-known rogue's gallery of criminals—Joker, Penguin, Mister Freeze, Two-Face, The Riddler, the list went on and on.

"I don't think they were working for anyone in particular other than Twin Knives, at least their clothes didn't match up with any of the known crime bosses. I thought this would be an average crime scene but something is wrong here," Batman said, considering his next move.

_"What will you do now?"_ Alfred inquired curiously when Batman did not speak.

"I'm coming back, need to run some tests on these samples I collected," Batman finally said. He tapped a button on his black gauntlet and summoned the Batwing which roared in overhead. Batman fired a line from his grappling hook, caught the attach point and hauled himself inside. Once he was in the cockpit, he took manual control and pushed the throttle to full, heading for the Batcave.


	2. Chapter 2

The waterfall covering the hidden entrance to the Batcave exploded in a shimmering blast of water which splashed across the rock walls of Batman's hidden sanctum. The Batwing's engines flared as the Dark Knight turned the aircraft into position and settled it onto the designated landing pad. Batman climbed from the cockpit, his boots stomping onto the wet metal catwalk as his cape swept behind him.

"A productive night out, I take it, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked as he entered holding a covered silver tray, presumably containing the remainder of his employer's cold dinner.

Batman reached up and tapped a button near the base of his neck. The cowl concealing his face expanded, allowing him to remove it. Bruce Wayne placed the cowl on a console near the Batcomputer and sat down, ignoring the food which Alfred had placed temptingly close to him. Casually nudging it nearer, Alfred said, "Everything all right, sir?"

"No," Bruce said, leaning back in his chair and rotating to face the computer's main screens. He powered it up and started through his usual subroutines, ensuring multiple layers of firewall security were in place before logging into the GCPD remote database to which he had access. "Oracle," Bruce said into a microphone. "Are you there?"

Seeing he was no longer wanted nor seen, Alfred Pennyworth sighed and retreated back into the main area of stately Wayne Mansion.

_"I'm here, Bruce,"_ came the feminine voice of his companion, Barbara Gordon. In the years before, she had been shot by the Joker while reading alone in her apartment which led to the loss of the use of her legs, confining her to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Not wanting to give up fighting crime as Batgirl, Barbara took on the mantle of Oracle and became Batman's eyes and ears in the city from the interior of the Gotham clocktower.

"Came across a crime scene your father sent me," Bruce said, leaning back in his chair and steepling his fingers. "Twin Knives was killed but he took two more out with him. I gathered a large portion of evidence and I'm going to run scans on it now."

_"So what do you need me for?"_ Oracle asked, sounding somewhat distracted. _"Sounds like you've got it all under control."_

"I need you to check for any footage you can find from the warehouse that night, inside or outside. I want to know what happened to Twin Knives before he got there. If I can pinpoint where he was before, it may shed some light on why he murdered two men and then collapsed on the spot with no signs of foul play. I'll send you the address—"

_"Already got it,"_ Oracle replied and signed off.

Bruce stood and collected the evidence he'd gathered from the scene. It would take several hours to run scans but once the task was complete, he may have a better picture of what he was dealing with. He injected Twin Knives' blood into an analyzer on a nearby counter and let the machine do its needed work.

_"Got something for you,"_ came Oracle's voice.

"That was fast," Bruce replied, tapping the comm unit in his ear.

_"Please, don't insult me,"_ Oracle replied. _"Looks like your pal Twin Knives just came out of an abandoned apartment building in Amusement Mile. It's scheduled for demo but the city hasn't sprung for it yet."_

"Any visual on the inside?" Bruce asked, eyeing the blood analyzer's readout.

_"Not that I've seen but—"_

"Oh, no," Bruce said as he read what was printed on the device.

_"Everything okay?"_ Oracle asked curiously.

Pulling the analyzer closer to his face, Bruce frowned. "Don't even need to check any of the other evidence I picked up. Blood sample of Twin Knives shows trace residue of Scarecrow's fear toxin."

_"But isn't Scarecrow in Arkham Asylum?"_ Oracle asked, confused.

"Yes," Bruce replied. "Twin Knives was in as well but he was released just two months ago. He may have stolen some from Scarecrow's stash and kept it hidden enough to get it out with him. Now that he's out, he probably wants to become the new Scarecrow."

_"Guess it's over with now,"_ Oracle said.

Bruce shook his head. "I have to get to that apartment, make sure there isn't any left. If anyone else comes across a stash of Scarecrow's fear toxin, someone with money or power, or maybe delivers it to one of the other crime bosses, Gotham City could be at the mercy of Joker or anyone else. Batman out," Bruce said, disconnecting the line.

"I'm assuming you'll be leaving again, sir?" Alfred said from the entrance to the cave.

Bruce didn't respond. He grabbed his cowl and replaced it on his head, then crossed to the Batwing and climbed back inside. As the Batwing roared off into the night, Alfred sighed and collected the silver tray. "One day, old girl," the butler said, frowning, "one day he'll actually eat something I serve him."


	3. Chapter 3

Nightwing heard the signature sound of the approaching Batwing before he spotted it swooping in from the night sky. Obscured by the rain, the Batwing seemed to materialize like a ghost in the gloom, touching down on the roof of a building in the middle of being constructed, situated across the street from the abandoned apartment building their clues had led them to. As Batman stepped from the craft, he frowned when he saw Nightwing waiting for him.

Dick Grayson had been Batman's first Robin, back when he had only been Batman for around four years. After two years, Dick quit being Robin and moved to Blüdhaven where he took on the mantle of Nightwing and became the city's protector, much the same way Batman was for Gotham. Though he had moved out from the shadow of the Bat, Nightwing still found time to return to Gotham and assist his old mentor with cases now and again.

"Who called you?" Batman grunted.

"Oracle," Nightwing said cheerfully, oblivious or uncaring of Batman's tone. "She thought maybe you could use some help busting this place up."

"Doubtful," Batman replied, turning to scan the apartment building across the road. "If I can't handle one thug from Arkham, it's about time I hung up my cape and cowl."

"Maybe," Nightwing agreed, rubbing some dirt off the blue logo on the front of his costume. "But I'm here now, so let's make the most of it. Like old times, eh?"

Batman grudgingly nodded and the pair began their reconnaissance. "Twin Knives was here right before he came to the warehouse. If the fear toxin in his blood did come from an accidental dose he gave himself, we have to be careful. There could be others watching guard while Twin Knives is gone. If we take them by surprise—"

"Yeah, yeah, let's go already," Nightwing said, launching himself into the air and firing off his grappling hook.

"I bet Superman never has to deal with this," Batman grunted as he followed his former partner in a glide of his own.

Batman and Nightwing crashed through a closed window and hit the floor in crouched positions, looking around the room for any sign of criminals to attack. When nothing happened after several seconds, the pair straightened and began searching the apartment for any sign of the fear toxin.

"Found it," Batman said from one of the bedrooms.

As Nightwing came to investigate, Batman went to retrieve one of the canisters when it suddenly opened and sent a jet of gas into the air. Before he could react, Batman's inhalation caused some of the gas—which he presumed to be the fear toxin—to be pulled into his lungs.  


"Stay back!" Batman roared, holding out his hand for Nightwing to obey.

Nightwing did as he was told. He drew his twin escrima sticks which began to spark at the tips as he prepared to fight his former mentor.

A voice from somewhere behind them chilled Nightwing to the bone. As Batman sank to the floor, struggling to stay in control, a lanky figure appeared in the hallway leading into the room. It was dim so the man was not fully in the light, but his eyes gave him away the moment Nightwing saw them. "Joker," he snarled.

"So happy to see you boys found my little trap," Joker said, grinning from ear to ear. "Any moment now the Bat will attack and you'll have to kill him to stop him from doing the same to you, Boy Wonder."

Nightwing turned to face the Joker. "Never," he said firmly.

"You won't have much choice, kiddo," Joker crowed. "Have a lovely evening, boys." His laughter echoed through the apartment long after he was gone.

"Batman," Nightwing said, turning to the Dark Knight's hunched form.

"Don't come any closer," Batman's inhuman voice growled.

"Oracle," Nightwing said into his comm, "we need a Scarecrow antidote right now."

_"On it,"_ Oracle replied.

"Better make it extra speedy delivery," Nightwing said, preparing himself for an attack. "I think some of it got to me, too." As expected, Batman whirled and came at Nightwing hard and fast, not going easy on his younger companion. Nightwing met Batman blow for blow, using his superior reflexes to dodge Batman's incoming attack. Nightwing looked at Batman and saw only a mutated bat creature snarling and sniveling and knew Batman was seeing something similar when looking at him.

"You won't take me alive, monster!" Batman screamed. He reached into his utility belt and hurled a trio of batarangs.

Taken off guard, Nightwing felt one of the projectiles scratch his arm, drawing blood. He blocked the other two with his sticks and tried to bite back the stinging pain from Batman's attack. Reaching into his own pouch of tricks, Nightwing hurled a metallic ball in Batman's direction but the Dark Knight anticipated this and knocked it away before the knock-out gas could disperse into his face.

"You won't take me down that easily!" Batman roared, coming at Nightwing with renewed ferocity.

_"Incoming,"_ Oracle said from Nightwing's earpiece.

Batman raised his hands and wrapped them around Nightwing's throat. The smaller man tried to punch and kick to get Batman off but it was no use. He could feel his vision clouding and his strength ebbing away. He swore he could hear the sound of a grappling hook nearby but Batman slammed him into the wall and he fell even further down the hole.

Like an out-of-control ballistic missile, Robin burst into the room and slammed into Batman with both feet in a flying kick which sent Batman tumbling away. Robin hit the floor and Nightwing collapsed, struggling to breathe. "You okay?" Robin asked, picking himself up and giving Nightwing a hand.

"Thanks, Tim," Nightwing said. "Come on, let's kick Batman's ass."

As the pair looked up and prepared for a fight, they saw Batman kneeling and an empty vial of fear toxin antidote in his hand. He'd already fought back against the toxin's control and used his own vial to inject himself. Panting heavily and struggling to stand, Batman rasped, "Joker—is he gone?"

Robin and Nightwing returned to normal stances now that Batman was once again in control of himself. "I didn't see him on my way in," Robin said with disappointment in his voice. "We can catch him, though. He can't have gotten far."

"No," Batman said, climbing to his feet and shaking his head. "I need you and Nightwing to dispose of the fear toxin. Inoculate yourselves before you get anywhere close to it. I need to go have a talk with Gordon."

\---

"Well, did you find the supply of fear toxin?" Commissioner James Gordon asked from the rooftop of the GCPD.

Batman was standing nearby, his face cloaked in shadow as the rain continued pounding down on them. "It's gone, Jim," he said matter-of-factly. "Joker was behind the whole thing. He made sure Twin Knives smuggled the fear toxin out but drugged him without his knowledge before he left. By the time I got to him he was dead from the overdose of toxin in his blood. Apparently Joker was hoping to lure me into a trap and set me against anyone I called in to help."

"It almost worked," Gordon said. "I hear you and Nightwing went at it."

"Until I got control," Batman agreed. "I had no idea Joker was even involved. It was a good plan, Jim, he almost got me this time. Next time I'll be ready for him."

Gordon's radio crackled and the commissioner reached for it. "What is it now?" he barked.

_"Commish, Dr. Sarah Cassidy's been reported missing. We're heading over to her office now. You coming or what?"_

Gordon nodded. "I'm in." He looked up. "You coming with—?" The Batman was gone having left no sign behind he was ever there. "I hate it when he does that," Gordon sighed.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! Thank you for reading my fourth fanfiction. If you like this please check out my original works here:
> 
> https://tinyurl.com/KyleJosephWebsite  
> https://tinyurl.com/KyleJosephYouTube


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